Automatic oiler, initial and drip



' July R, w35 G. T. PFLEGER AUTOMATIC OILER INITIAIJ AND DRIP Filed May 24, 1952 /Nz/s/vTo/'z @501965, 7.' Hf:

. "UNITED STATES. PATENT oFFIoE through the bearings. operation, however, this drip device is usually Patented July 16, 1935 AUTOMATIC OILER, INITIAL AND DRIP fornia Application May 24, .1932, Serial N0. 613,322

11 Claims. i

"My invention relates to a novel form of oiling device which nds particular utility in combination with a deep-well turbine pump.

The conventional'deep-well turbine pump includes a pump unit positioned in the well and providing mpellers which move the water or other well liquid upward in a discharge pipe to the surface of the ground. A line shaft extends downward through the dischargepipe and is journalled at frequent intervals throughout its length, this vshaft usually being retained in a shaft-enclosing tubing. A motor is positioned at the top of thewelland drives the shaft, and diiliculty has sometimes been encountered in properly lubricating fthe line-shaft bearings. The conventional'mode of. eifecting this lubrication is to slowly drip oil downward through the shaft-enclosing tubing, this oil dripping successively When the pump is not in shut off. i

I have found that a continuous drip system of lubrication is not effective in properly lubricating the line-shaft bearings immediately after the pump is set into operation, and it is an object of this invention to `pro-vide an apparatus for first supplying to the uppermost line-shaft bearing a surge of oil at or near the time that the pump is set into operation, followed by a greatly restrict`V ed flow. This preliminary surge ofoil quickly moves `downward around vthe line shaft and through the bearings, thus establishing oil lms in each bearing. Once these films are established a slow drip of oil to the uppermost bearing will l maintain these films.`

Another object of the inventionis to provide an oiling device for the bearings of a deep-well turbine pump, in which oilng device a reserve Y supply of oil is maintained between the `main reservoir and the control valve'so that when thiscontrol valve is openedA this reserve supply will immediately drain into thebearings.

Further objects of the invention lie in the use of such a control valve which is automatically opened when the motor or other drive means is energized. y i i i i `Still "further objects of the invention lie in a `novel oiling system per se including a rreservoir' forretaining the main body of oil, and thedrip l device communicating therewith and discharging into a suitable storage means,` theow from the storage means being controlledby a suitable valve. i

i Other objects andadvantages ofthe inventionV lielin the particular construction of the oiling device to be hereinafter described including the use of a novel .storage means.

Referring to the drawing- I Fig. 1 illustrates a conventional deep-well'turbine pump including theinvention, this View be. ing partially in section and partially in elevation.A

Fig. 2 is an enlarged View of `a portion of Fig. `1 and illustrates in detail the features oftheV invention.

Mysinvention finds particular utility in `combination with a deep-well turbine pump. In Fig. 1, I have illustrated one type of deep-well pump installed in a well I!) in which is placed a casing II, the lower end of which may be perforated in the usual manner so that water or other well liquid may enter the casi g. A pump unit I2 yis suspended in the casing II on a discharge pipe I3 in the usual manner, the upper end of this pipe being supported from a pump head I4 which `includes an elbow I5 for discharging the Well liquid pumped upward in the discharge pipe I3 by the pump unit I2. In the form shown, this pump unit 1s formed of a plurality of bowls I6 with a suitable strainer I1 secured at the lower end and through which the water enters the lowermost of these bowls. f Each bowl includes an impeller, not shown, so that the water moves upward in succession through the impellers and through the discharge pipe I3.

These-impellers are mounted on a line shaft 20 which extends upward in a shaft-enclosing tubing 2| to the surface of the grcundand through the pump head I4. The shaft-enclosing tubing ZI is secured both to the pump unit I2 and to the pump head I4. In the form illustrated the upper end of this shaft-enclosing tubing is thread-v ed into an opening 23 of the elbow I5. The line shaft 2G can be journalled at frequent intervals throughout its length,'this being Vaccomplished by sleeve bearings 25 `spaced vertically above each other in the shaft-enclosing tubing 2|.

One method of lubricating such bearings is to provide a drip device which slowly drips oil into the upper end of the shaft-enclosing tubing 2|, as, for instance, through a pipe 26`communicating therewith. This slow drip of oil gradually moves downward through the bearings in succession. When the pump is not in operation, however, it is usually desirable to eliminate this small supply of oil, otherwise the amount of ioil used would present a serious economic loss.A However, eliminating this drip of oil results in a.: condition wherein the oil tends tof drain from the shaftenclosing tubing, thus destroying the oil lms 'or. dinarily present in the bearings 25 and separat` ing these bearings from the shai. When the pump is next set into operation these bearings will be dry until oil is supplied thereto by the conventional drip device connected to the pipe 26. I have found that it requires a material length of time for a suiiicient amount of oil to enter the shaft-enclosingv tubing 2l to effectively lubricate the bearings 25- therein, thus resulting in undue wear on the bearings. It is my invention to supply a preliminary surge oi oil to the shaft-enclosing tubing to quickly lubricate these bearings during the starting up of the pumpandto thereafter supply a restricted flow of oil sufiicient to main-y tain the oil films in the diiierent bearings.

These results may best beY accomplished by the use of an oil-control device indicated in general' by the numeral 28 which controls the flow of oil from a reservoir 2S into the pipe 25. rI'he reser- Voir 29 may conveniently be positioned at the upper end of the pump head M and below amotor 3B' drivably connected to the upper end of the line shaft 2B. In this event it is usually desirable to utilize a collar 3l extending upward from a lower wall 32 of the reservoir 29, this collar extending above the normal level or oil in this reservoir, this level being indicated by the numeral 33. Oil may begsupplied to the reservoir through a fitting 34, and flows therefrom through the conn trol device 28 which will now be described.

lReferring particularly to Fig. 2, the control device 28 includes a drip device 38 which may be of conventional form. In Fig. 2, I have disclosed this device as comprising a needle valve including a pointed stem 4i? which seats in a partition IH of a valve body 42 so as to control. the fiow or oil through the valve body by suitably adjusting the stem de. The oil dropping from the body L12 passes through an indicating device [l5 which may include a glass window through which the drops may be seen so that the drip device 33 can be set to supply the desired amount of oil. A nipple 41 extends between an elbow 43 communicating with the indicating device li and a T-iitting 5t, there being a stand-pipe 5l which communicates with the T-tting and extendsupward through a gland 52 into'the reservoir 29 and terminates at a level above the surface 33, The gland 52 may beusedto compress a packing around this standpipe so that no leakage takes place.l A pipe 58 communicates between the Tntting 50 and a valveV means 60. Y

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 2, this valveV means comprises a body 6! including intake and discharge chambers 52 and 63 separatedfby a partition GG, the latter chamber 53 communicating with the pipe 25. This partition includes' anl opening VE55 which forms a valve seat for a plunger 66 which, in the preferred form of theinvention, is electrically operated. In Fig. 2, IV have shown' a magnetic device which will, when energized, lift the plunger E5, and retain this plunger in an uppermost position as long as the device is energized, thus allowing oil to move through' the valve 80 and the pipe 26 to the uppermost bearing. The magnetic device S1 may, for instance, comprise a solenoid including a winding 10. This winding may be manually energized from a suitable source of current, but in the preferred form ofjthe invention I prefer to connectY this winding by conductors 'li and 'l2 to conductors 13 which supply current to the motor 30. A switch 14 oi the usual type is used to control the energization of the motor 3i) and thus alsozcontrols the energization of the winding 1li. Itwill thus be' clear that when the motor is first Yand the valve SS energized the plunger G6 will be moved upward to open the Valve E0.

The stand-pipe E l, in conjunction with the drip device 38 and their cooperating ttings, and the intake chamber 62 cooperate in dening a storage means which receives the supply of oil from the reservoir 29 in a manner to store a preliminary charge of' this oil which is released as soon as the valve @il isopened, after which the drip device 38 will throttle the ow to the bearings as determined by the setting of the needle valve included inthe dripvdevice. It should be Understood, however, that I am not limited to the exact design` of storage means shovm, inasmuch as any storage chamber between the reservoir 29 might be utilized regardless of whether a stand-pipe is used and regardless of whether the stand-pipe is open at its upper end or extends into the reservoir 29. It is usually desirable'to use some sort of vertically extending chamber as a part of ythe storage means, but by suitably enlarging other elements cooperating in defining the storage means, it is sometimes possible to dispense with such an upward extending chamber.

When a storage means of the type shown in Fig. 2 is utilized, it will be clear that during the time that the pump is not operating, the valve Se will be closed and oil will drip from the reservoir 2&3 through the drip device 38 and will fill the elbow d8, the T-tting 5), the nipples 41 and 58, as Well as the intake chamber 62 of the valve 68. This oil will also rise in the stand-pipe 5i, and ii the upper end of the stand-pipe is open, as shown in Fig. 9, the oil will rise therein to a level indicated by the numeral i6 which level corresponds to the level 33 in the reservoir. Thereafter no now will take place thrcughthe drip device 38 due to the static balance maintained by the level of oil in the stand-pipe. As soon as the motor 3U is energized, however, the plunger $6 will rise and the oil in the storage means will quickly iow through the valve 60 and to the uppermost bearing 25 whenceV it will drop quickly downward to properly lubricate all of the bearings in the shaft-enclosing tubing 2l. Once proper lms of oil are established in these bearings, it is only necessary to supply a small amount of additional oil and this is automatically taken care of in the oil-control system of the invention, for when the oil is drained from the storage means, the oil supplied to the shaft-en closingtubing 2l will be controlled by the settingA of the needle valve in the drip device 38, this needle valve thus acting as a throttle means.

Variousmodifications of the invention are possible and fall withinrthe scope of the appended claims, and it should not be understood that I am limited to the exact apparatus disclosed.

Iclaim as my invention:

Vl. In combination with a deep-well turbine pump including a pump unit positioned in a well, a shaft, and bearings for said shaft: walls defining a reservoir containing a body of oil; a storage means adapted to receive a supply of said oil from said reservoir; throttle means through whichl said storage means and said reservoir are inA communication; a valve means communicating with said storage means and with said throttle means for passing a surge of oil followedbya slow vflow of oil, said slow flow of oil being controlled in amount by said throttle means; meanscommunicating between said lvalve means and said bearings and conducting both the preliminarysurgeV of oil andthe later slow flow of oil to said bearings when said valve means is opened.

2. In combination with a deep-well turbine pump including a pump unit positioned in a well, a shaft, and bearings for said shaft: walls dening a reservoir containing a body of oil; a storage means` adapted to receive a supply of said oil from said reservoir; throttle means through which said storage means and said reservoir are in communication; a valve means com- .municating with said storage means and with said throttle means for passinga surge of oil followed by a slowflow of oil, said slow flow of oil being controlled in amount by said throttle means; means communicating between said valve means and said bearings and conducting both the preliminary surge of oil and the later slow flow of oil to said bearings when said valve means is opened; an electric motor driving said shaft; and an electric control means for said valve andlelectrically connected to said electric motor for opening said valve means when said electric motor is energized.

3. A combination as defined in claim l in which said storage means includes a vertically extending chamber in which said oil flowing'through said throttle means rises when said valve means is closed.

4. A combination as dened in claim 1 in which said storage means includes a stand-pipe open at its upper end and extending to a point above the oil level in said reservoir whereby the oilmoves through said throttle means into said stand-pipe when said valve means is closed.

5. In combination with a deep-well turbine pump including a pump unit positioned in a well, a shaft, bearings for said shaft, and a shaft-enclosing tubing retaining said bearings and surrounding said shaft; a `pump head defining a reservoir at the top of said well and containing a body of oil; a drip device withdrawing oil from said reservoir at a slow rate; a storage means communicating with said drip device and into which said oil dripping through said drip device is temporarily stored; a valve means through which the oil in said storage means flows when said valve means is opened; means delivering the oil owing through said valve means to the upper end of said shaft-enclosingtubing; and means for opening said valve means when said pump is setV into operation whereby the oil in said storage means quickly flows into said shaft-enclosing `tubing when said valve means is iirst opened to form a preliminarysurge of oil, said drip device thereafter controlling the flow to said shaft-enclosing tubing through said storage means.

6. In combination with a deep-well turbine pump including a pump u nit positioned in a well, a shaft, and bearings for said shaft; means at the top of said well for retaining a body of oil; supply means communicating between said oil and said bearings; a valve means in said supply means operative when opened to deliver to said bearings a surge of oil and a slow flow of oil to said bearings thereafter; a drive means for said shaft; and means for opening said valve means when said drive means is put into operation.

7. In combination: a pump unit positioned in a well; a shaft extending upward in said well from said pump unit;rbearings for said shaft and spaced vertically 'from each other throughout said well; walls at the top of said well defining a reservoir containing a body of oil; means delivering to the uppermost bearing a preliminary surge of said oil; and means for subsequently delivering a slow drip of oil to said bearings.

8. A lubricating device for lubricating bearings vertically spaced from each other whereby lubricant delivered to the uppermost bearing drops successively through said bearings, including in combination: pipe means communicating with the uppermost of said bearings; a storage means containing a quantity of lubricant; a valve means in said pipe means and including a relatively large flow passage for quickly conducting said quantity of lubricant to said uppermost bearing; and means communicating with both said pipe meansjand said storage means for delivering a small quantity of lubricant to said pipe means after said quantity of lubricant has been discharged therefrom.

9. A lubricating device for lubricating bearings vertically spaced fromeach other whereby lubricant delivered to the uppermost bearing drops successively through said bearings, including in combination: pipe means communicating with the uppermost of said bearings; a storage means containing a quantity of lubricant; a valve means in said pipe means and including a relatively .large flow passage for quickly conducting said quantity of lubricant to said uppermost bearing; and means automatically renewing said quantity of lubricant in said storage means when said valvemeans is closed, said means communicating with said pipe means.

l0. A lubricating device for lubricating the vertically spaced bearings of a deep-well turbine pump, including: walls defining a reservoir containing a lubricant; Walls forming a storage means; means for delivering lubricant from said reservoir to said storage means until a static pressure balance exists in said reservoir and said Vstorage means; and means for quickly draining said lubricant from said storage means and delivering this lubricant to the uppermost bearings. 11. In combination with a deep-Weel .turbine pump including a pump unit positioned in a well, 

